Web News Archives

Ever needed to try a new service that you didn't know anything about? There can be a lot of unease and trepidation about spending your money with a business that you're not familiar with. I mean, what if they don't do a good job, or if something of yours is damaged because of something they overlooked?

This can happen with mechanics, home repair, electronics — the list goes on and on, really. Most often, we try to find friends, family or acquaintances who can recommend a good service. But what if nobody you know is able to help?

Lucky for us, there are services available that can help us connect to some great recommendations. Whether you need to find a contractor to work on your roof or paint your home, or you need a place to take a date for a night on the town, there are services that can give you all the info you need. Here are some of the review services you can find on WhiteFence:

• Angie's List is a word-of-mouth network designed to let consumers see reviews from other consumers about different services. It's especially useful for local service companies that you might not know about. What better way to find out about new services than from someone who's recently used it?
• Zagat is a service that can send you updates through your cell phone about local restaurants, nightlife, hotels and other attractions in your area. Perfect for someone on the go.

All of these services can be found in the Reviews You Can Use section on WhiteFence. If you'd like to find out about more places in your area, or just need to brush up on some local entertainment, it's definitely worth looking into.

Tags: angies list, entertainment, home improvement, home repair, reviews, reviews you can use, zagat

During natural disasters, there are many ways to get involved and help. There's volunteering, sending food and bottled water, those are the usual things. But bodywash? That's a new one.

Amber at EnviroMojo recently posted about a new effort from Brad Pitt and Kiehls to support victims of Hurricane Katrina. The initiative is called Make it Right, and focuses on using the sales of one of the company's bodywashes to support those displaced by the storm.

Being a guy and not knowing much about bodywash or hygienic materials in general (though I can sing a rousing rendition of "Oofa loofa" to the tune of Willy Wonka's "Oompa Loompas"), I'd do better to pass you along to EnviroMojo. Amber's got all of the information there, and you can find out how to do your part to help others.

And hey, getting clean in the meantime doesn't hurt, either.

Tags: charity, conservation, environment, fundraiser, katrina, make it right

Typically, there are a few constants about our society that we tend to accept. Green means go. Red means stop. Turn off your cell phone at a movie theater. You know, the usual. One of those staples of our modern world happens to do with teenagers and car insurance. More specifically, that it's typically expensive to insure a teenager to drive. However, it seems that things are changing.

According to CarInsurance, more and more insurance providers are starting to offer better, cheaper coverage for young drivers. It seems that this "move comes amid greater competition among insurance companies, and at a time that young drivers are not quite the risk they once were for a variety of reasons".

Some of the factors that are easing the bill on young drivers include:

• State restrictions on teenage drivers. Texas, for instance, has a curfew for young drivers. In addition, some states have "no cell phone" policies and a limit on whether or not teenagers can drive others to and fro.
• Parental involvement and investment with devices like DriveCam, which "can record what's going on inside a car and the view outside through the windshield". There are even mechanisms which act like a GPS signal on the car, telling parents where the car is. This device can also be used to shut the car off.
• Safety programs. Some auto insurance agencies are offering discounts for drivers with good grades, or who participate in certain recommended safety courses.

All in all, it's good to get informed about what insurance companies are doing when it comes to young drivers. To read more about auto insurance for teenagers, head to CarInsurance.

If you're currently in the market for auto insurance, did you know that you can find that in addition to other insurance services online at WhiteFence?
Tags: auto insurance, car insurance, home services, insurance, insurance service

Even though "spring cleaning" is already well past us, it's never too late (or early) to take a new approach to keeping your home clean and tidy. We all know that with work and whatever else it is that seems to devour our schedules whole, it gets hard to do simple things around the home or the apartment. I mean, we'd all rather be spending our free time doing something more leisurely than scrubbing the linoleum or cleaning out the closet.

While everyone has their own handy tricks that they use to clean, some of us (like myself, and maybe some other dudes, too) remain woefully ignorant of simple things like stain removal and cleaning kitchen cabinets. And that's just scratching the surface. We could all use a helping hand from time to time, which is why I was glad I stumbled across Merry Maids, which has a unique list of cleaning tips and guides in order to make your cleaning life a little more easy to manage.

Some notable tips:

• Removing candle wax from wood, upholstery or carpet
• Cleaning marble and granite floors
• Odor removal
• Pet hair removal

Considering these tips are coming from a professional maid service, they should be rather helpful. Do you have any particular cleaning tips that you use around the house that could be useful? To read all of the tips in the guide, visit Merry Maids.

And if you're still wondering how you'll even have time to attempt any cleaning around the home, have you considered that WhiteFence can help connect you to maid services in your area?

Tags: house cleaning, house cleaning tips, maid, maid services

Even though the summer season is on its path out the door, soon to be replaced with Fall, the energy bills can still cause some damage. The cool weather is on its way (along with the newest batch of Oscar hopefuls in the box office) and eventually, the holidays. No matter what time of year it is, though, there's always a need to save money on the home utility bills.

Mother Earth News has put up an intensive article that looks at how home-owners can save both energy and money with some simple improvements to their homes. It includes several projects (some are do-it-yourselves and others require professional assistance) that will ultimately lower your energy bills and help you conserve power and water in order to help the environment.

While some if it may seem to be a bit over your head, there are even tips on what kinds of insulation to use and ways that you as a consumer can save warm water. I've read lots of these lists, and I must say that some of the suggestions were new to me. If you're like me, then you'll agree that it's nice to learn something new that can help you around the house. What's really nice is the way that the article simplifies these things to show that energy conservation isn't a huge burden, but rather, something that anyone can do.

To view this list and start saving money, visit Mother Earth News. Are there any measures that you currently take to conserve power? Do you find them to be a strain, or are they easier than you would have thought at first?


Tags: electricity, energy, energy conservation, energy saving, home improvement, home utilities

While the season for moving during the summer is winding to a close, it is still going strong as people relocate all around the country. As anyone that's moved before knows, packing everything you own into piles of boxes is a trying ordeal and sometimes ends up being much more stressful than you first imagined.

WTOP News recently posted a feature about the moving season and how to prepare for movers. Apparently, "an estimated 40 million Americans move each year, with August being high season". The tips provided in the article about using movers cover the entire moving process, from planning and organizing to the actual day of the move. Some of the tips include things like packing a couple of weeks worth of dishes and clothes to reduce stress as well as getting snacks and drinks ready for the movers on the big day.

If you're moving this month or thinking about moving in the near future, these tips on movers are a must-read. To find out more, head over to WTOP News.

Tags: hire movers, movers, moving, moving help, moving tips

Not many of us can say that we've celebrated an 85th birthday, but this year, Warner Bros. is doing it in cinematic style. To commemorate 85 years of movies, the company is pushing out 85 movies in high-definition for Video On Demand service. These movies will be available across a wide variety of platforms, including both satellite and cable providers such as DirecTV, DISH Network, Comcast, Cox, Time Warner and more.

The movies available include all kinds of classics such as Superman, Casablanca and Dirty Harry. Many of these titles are showing up for the first time on HD VOD, so it is definitely a treat for movie buffs.

To see the full list of the movies that are showing up for the 85th birthday bash, head over to Broadcast & Cable.


Tags: cable, cable provider, cable tv, satellite provider, satellite tv

For Comcast subscribers, some interesting news broke onto the Web just recently. According to the Associated Press, "cable and Internet service provider Comcast Corp. is expanding its online menu with the acquisition of Daily Candy, an electronic newsletter catering to women looking for tips on fashion, food and fun things to do in big cities."

DailyCandy is a New York based online newsletter that provides tips for things such as shopping, dining, weekend events and fashion based on your location. Currently, it has over 2 million subscribers and caters primarily to women.

To read more about this interesting venture, be sure to head over to the Associated Press.

Tags: cable provider, cable tv, comcast, comcast cable, comcast high-speed

Who doesn't like to watch movies at home? With growing technology, turning your home into a movie theater on-demand is becoming more of a reality, especially after a recent announcement from Netflix and LG Electronics.

It seems that LG Electronics is working on a Blu-ray disc player that not only will play the high definition Blu-ray format for movies, but it will also be able to integrate with your Netflix subscription. The player will sport a connection on the back to plug it into a home network, where you can then stream Netflix movies from the Internet, direct to your television. No waiting anxiously for the mailbox or even downloading, because it plays the instant you click it.

To find out more about this movie watcher's dream, head over to The Wall Street Journal.

Tags: movie subscription, movies, netflix, rent movies, rental

As the summer rolls on, it seems that prices on gas and other items that we need to maintain our active lifestyles continue to roll on as well. With no immediate end in sight to some of the concerns about spending on energy and other commodities, it's nice to be informed about what is going on in the world of energy in order to stay on top of the game.

Earlier this week Amber over at EnergyBabble posted some intriguing thoughts about the discussion of Oil Vs. Alternative Energy in today's world. She definitely poses a lot of probing questions about the long term reliability of both energy sources, the rising costs of oil and other matters that I'm sure will hit home with a lot of consumers that are trying to keep some money in the pocket. Is more offshore drilling the answer? Or do we need something else?

To join in on the energy conversation, take a trip over to EnergyBabble.

Tags: alternative energy, energy, energy conservation, energy saving

You'd better believe it. Every year around this time, E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) happens in California. It's a time for those in the video game industry to let others know what is coming in the future and how the last year has treated them.

To kick off the week, each of the major console developers (Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo) holds a press conference where they make their big announcements on upcoming titles and developments for their systems. Yesterday, Microsoft announced an exciting new partnership with Netflix which subscribers could start to see the benefits of as soon as this Fall.

Basically, if someone is a member of XBox Live, Microsoft's online gaming service for the XBox 360, and a member of Netflix, they will receive the ability to stream movies online to their TV through the XBox 360 console. Best part of all? No additional costs.

To read more about this exciting deal, head on over to the WashingtonPost.
 
Tags: movie rental, movies, netflix, rental, xbox 360

Tired of getting those unwanted ads and envelopes in the mailbox? There's nothing worse than getting home from a long day of work, grabbing the mail and pulling out piles of applications, offers and all the other stuff that can be a pain to toss once you get inside the house.

Amber at Enviromojo recently posted some helpful tips on how to stop junk mail in its tracks. It's a great resource for those who are trying to be eco-friendly while still keeping the unwanted mail from piling up on the kitchen counter. Head on over to EnviroMojo if you'd like to learn more!

Tags: eco, eco-friendly, enviromojo, environment, green, green living

As we move past the halfway point of 2008 towards the next year, more and more people are paying attention to the upcoming transition from analog to digital television. If you were unaware, on February 17, 2009, all over-the-air analog broadcasts will cease, replaced by digital signals. Now, if you have cable or satellite TV you should be fine- however, if you use the traditional rabbit ears, you will need to get a signal converter in order to continue watching your favorite shows and programs.

As the date nears, more people are trying to spread the word. An article posted this week in the New York Times talks about the transition and how groups like the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights are attempting to get more funding to let the public know more about it. Apparently, there are large groups still in the dark on the subject, and could be left in the dark as far as their TV goes next February.

Recently, more commercials and ads have been airing that let people know about this eventual change in the broadcasting format. States are getting in on the awareness game as well. Last week, Monica at CommJunkie posted an interesting article about a recent test run by the Sunshine State, where they cut off the analog signal briefly to show television watchers if they would be affected by the transition or not.

To find out more about this story, head over to the New York Times. If you'd like to know more about the DTV transition, visit DTV.

Tags: cable, digital, digital cable, digital transition, digital tv, dtv, satellite, tv service

For those of you interested in green projects, you might want to keep your eye on a site known as CityBucks.org. They have a campaign going on called "Save the Earth", where they aim to collect $10 from each city on the planet. The end goal is to show people that by going green, they can not only save money on their home electricity bill but also help the environment.

Another interesting feature, however, is the contest they are running to win a "green home makeover". Donations of $1 dollar or more enter you into the contest to win a makeover for your home that makes it eco-friendly and saves you money. The site seems to be in its early stages, but it could be something to keep an eye on for the future.

Visit CityBucks to learn more about saving money with green energy.

Tags: energy conservation, environment, green energy, green living, green tips

As a consumer trying to make an informed decision about essential home services, sometimes it can be a little daunting if you don't quite have all the facts. For instance, do you know about the coming digital transition for television? Do you know the differences between cable television and satellite television?

If you don't know about those things, there's no need to worry, because WhiteFence has Knowledge Centers about these very subjects. Recent posts at EnergyBabble and CommJunkie both highlight some of the different Knowledge Centers that are available for home service shoppers, in order to help educate about some of the lesser-known details that aren't always easy to come across.

• Energy Knowledge Centers
  
For the green, gas and electricity Knowledge Centers.


• Communication Knowledge Centers
  
Knowledge Centers having to do with high-speed Internet, home phone and television.

Tags: energy, energy conservation, green, high-speed, knowledge center, phone, resources, tv, whitefence

Amber at EnviroMojo recently posted an article about eating earth-friendly when you're out and about. Like CommJunkie and EnergyBabble, EnviroMojo is a new WhiteFence blog. However, it is devoted solely to all things green. The topics range from green energy to living green at home and abroad.

The recent article focuses on the Certified Green Restaurant™ Guide provided by the Green Restaurant Association^SM, "a national non-profit organization that is helping the restaurant industry to become more environmentally sustainable". The great thing about this guide is that it gives you tips on where to eat and what to look for when trying to find a green restaurant.

To get more information about the Certified Green Restaurant™ Guide, be sure to read about it over at EnviroMojo, your home for anything green.

Tags: conservation, environment, green, green company, green energy, restaurant

As you may already know, Earth Day is just around the corner. On April 22^nd, 2008, hundreds of millions of people from around the world will be celebrating Earth Day in order to raise the general awareness about energy conservation and environmental protection and care.

While there are several great ways to participate, TampaBay has posted some helpful tips to help parents educate children about energy conservation. The tips are both practical and effective, ranging from teaching your children good habits like turning the lights off when they leave a room or unplugging non-used appliances to taking them out in nature and showing them what a treasure it is. Another tip mentioned is demonstrating that children are a part of this world and have a role to play in affecting the environment, for good or ill.

Since Earth Day falls on a weekday, many cities are holding related events this upcoming weekend. The guide also has a few tips on some fun Earth Day activities if you happen to live in the Tampa or St. Petersburg, Florida area. For more information, read up on the full article at TampaBay. To get more education about April 22^nd, EarthDay has plenty of online resources as well. But most importantly, check out your local city guide and find out how to participate in the celebration locally.

Tags: clean energy, earth day, energy conservation, environment, green, green energy, renewable energy

Last month, students at the University of Central Florida held a competition. And no, the NCAA was not involved. This particular competition had students squaring off to see who could save the most energy. The record-setting results have come in, and it seems that the students gave UCF a good show for green energy.

Nearly "6,000 students reduced their energy use by a competition-record 8.9 percent --enough to power 150 homes for a month or the equivalent of nearly $17,700 in energy bills". The three winning buildings now have a chance to win prizes including scholarships, gift cards and pizza parties. Residents from each building have a short window to send in essays about their efforts to save energy.

All of this is part of UCF's long term plan to transform into a greener campus. By 2011, "the Center for Energy and Sustainability wants to reduce UCF’s energy consumption up to 20 percent in all education and general buildings". To read more about the green contest, you can head over to the University of Central Florida.

Tags: clean energy, energy conservation, green energy, renewable energy, save energy, university of central florida

Thinking about purchasing a hybrid automobile as your next vehicle?

In a recent article, the Star-Telegram out of Ft. Worth analyzes some key things to know about the energy-efficient autos including charging, how the car works and its fuel economy. It's an extremely helpful and informative piece, and should tell you all you need when considering your options for your next vehicle.

To read up on hybrids, visit the Star-Telegram.

Tags: clean energy, green, green energy, renewable energy

Booyah! If you're looking to connect your home services online and don't know where to start, stop stressing over endless, frustrating Web searches and take advantage of this simple information at your fingertips with news, guides and more. Need tips on how to find cheap home phone service? Check. Need a faster Internet connection? Look no further than the links below for all of the essential grit for home phone, high-speed Internet, moving tips, natural gas and green energy, minus the browsing in circles and general headaches.

Faster Internet

Inexpensive Home Phone

How to Positively Impact the Environment

Natural Gas for Georgians

Moving Without Losing Your Sanity

Does giving out your credit card online fill you with dread? Two of the largest players in e-commerce have come up with something that might give you a little extra peace-of-mind. Last month at the sixth annual eBay Live! Conference, eBay and PayPal announced the availability of the PayPal Security Key for its customers.

The small electronic token generates a unique security code approximately every 30 seconds. The companies say that members can use this code, along with their user name and password, to sign into both their eBay and PayPal accounts, helping to prevent unauthorized users from accessing them.

This type of additional security, known as two-factor authentication, is used by financial institutions as additional means to protect consumers and reduce losses from online fraud such as phishing attacks.

"We???ve had a tremendously positive response to the PayPal Security Key beta program and are excited to make the device generally available," said Michael Barrett, chief information security officer at PayPal. "While PayPal.com remains a trusted and secure environment, the PayPal Security Key allows customers to take their privacy and security into their own hands to help protect their eBay and PayPal accounts against unauthorized access."

The PayPal Security Key is part of the VeriSign Identity Protection (VIP) Network. As part of this network, consumers use the PayPal Security Key to protect themselves on a variety of financial services and e-commerce websites.

"As founding members of the VIP network, eBay and PayPal are leading the way in giving millions of consumers the tools they need to add an extra layer of protection when online," said Fran Rosch, vice president, Authentication Services, VeriSign. "Through the VIP Network, eBay and PayPal members will be able to use their PayPal Security Key to protect their account data at other participating sites and thereby reduce online fraud and cyber crime."

The PayPal Security Key has a promotional one-time fee of $5.00 for PayPal and eBay account holders in the U.S. The PayPal Security Key will also become generally available in Germany and Australia with more countries to follow.

For more information, check out https://www.paypal.com/securitykey or http://www.ebay.com/securitykey.

AT&T; and USA Gymnastics recently announced their effort to give a behind-the- scenes look at the nation's top gymnasts in a 25-episode online series, USA Gymnastics: Behind the Team, as they prepare to represent their country on the world stage through 2008. The series will be included as exclusive content available on the AT&T; blue room Team USA site

"Behind the Team will provide an insider's look at the USA Gymnastics story over the next 17 months," said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. "This series will chronicle the athletes, coaches, events and training activities that combine to produce some of the finest gymnasts in the world and prepare them for international competition. Behind the Team will also help people understand how the sport and the U.S. training system have evolved over time."

"Through more than two dozen webisodes, this series will explore the world of one of the most watched sports in the Olympic movement," said Jason Simpson, director of Olympic integration, AT&T.; "With such great consumer demand for Olympic sports content, AT&T; is thrilled to exclusively offer this compelling program leading up to the 2008 Beijing games."

The Behind the Team online series will include interviews with current and former athletes and coaches, as well as video of training camps and competitions. The first webisode will debut on the AT&T; blue room in April 2007, with new webisodes introduced through August 2008. Webisodes will also be archived on the site.

AT&T; is an official partner of the U.S. Olympic Team and USA gymnastics, providing financial support, products and services to America's athletes. AT&T; will serve as the official telecommunications services partner of the U.S. Olympic Team for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

For more information, check out the AT&T; press release.

Good news, golf fans! AT&T; announced this week that you can now enjoy more of the 2007 Masters Tournament as the company launches its first major content initiative across the three screens central to customers' lives: the wireless device, the TV and the PC.

Under an agreement with the Masters, AT&T; will provide golf fans with access to Masters previews and daily highlights, live tournament and practice range coverage, player interviews, live updates, links to real-time scoreboards and more. Masters coverage will be available through AT&T; blue room, AT&T; U-verse^SM TV, AT&T; Homezone^SM service, AT&T; U-verse OnTheGo, AT&T; Broadband TV, and Cingular, now AT&T;, wireless service. Live video, including Masters Extra and Amen Corner Live, real-time scoring and additional information is also available on the Masters official Web site, masters.org.

The deal furthers the company's commitment to deliver compelling content across the three screens. AT&T; offers customers a wide variety of content through a portfolio of advanced video, broadband and wireless services, bringing customers more of the entertainment they enjoy and strengthening programmers' and advertisers' connections with new and loyal audiences.

"By extending the excitement of the 2007 Masters Tournament across the three screens, AT&T; is giving golf fans more ways to enjoy one of the greatest traditions in all of sports," said Dan York, head of content and programming, AT&T; Entertainment Services. "As audiences look to get content on the range of digital devices, three-screen entertainment is the future. The Masters recognizes that successful programming translates to all three screens, which AT&T; can deliver to consumers, programmers and advertisers."

For more information, check out the AT&T; press release.

Experts at SophosLabs™, a global network of virus, spyware and spam analysis centers, have warned of a widespread worm posing as a Valentine's Day greeting which is spreading fast across the Internet

The W32/Dref-AB worm has been deliberately spread via e-mail in readiness for office workers and home computer users to find the malicious Valentine e-mail in their inbox first thing in the morning. Since the beginning of the holiday, the Dref-AB worm has accounted for 76.4 percent of all malware sighted at Sophos's global network of virus monitoring stations.

Subject lines used in the attack are many and varied, but all pose as a romantic message. Some of them include "A Valentine Love Song", "Be My Valentine", "Fly Away Valentine", "For My Valentine", "Happy Valentine's Day", "My Lucky Valentine", "My Valentine", "My Valentine Heart", "My Valentine Sunshine", "Send Love On Valentines", "The Valentine Love Bug", "The Valentines Angel", "Valentine's Love", "Valentine's Night", "Valentine Letter", "Valentine Love Song", "Valentine Sweetie", "Valentines Day Dance", "Valentines Day is here again", and "Your Love on Valentine's".

Attached to the e-mails are files called flash postcard.exe, greeting postcard.exe, greeting card.exe, or postcard.exe which contain the worm.

"This new Valentine attack is spreading hard and fast across the Web, accounting for over three quarters of all the malware we've seen at e-mail gateways around the globe since Feb. 14 began," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant. "People will be truly love sick if they let the virus run on their PC."

Opening the attached files on a PC activates the worm, which then sends itself to other e-mail addresses found on the now infected computer. Sophos analysts believe that the worm code is designed to attempt to download further malicious code from the Internet designed to take over the PC, convert it into part of a zombie network, and use it to send spam on behalf of hacking gangs.

"Cynical hackers are using the theme of Valentine's Day to conquer innocent people's computers and use them for their own money-making purposes," continued Cluley. "Your PC and the data on it is precious, and it needs to be protected. No-one should be blinded by the excitement of Valentine's Day into opening unsolicited attachments or clicking on links to unknown websites, as you could be falling deep into a hacker's trap. The best defense is common sense, combined with up-to-date anti-virus software and e-mail filtering at your gateway."

For more information, check out the Sophos press release.